Elderly Relatives & Hospice Care: The bittersweet moments of an elective pregnancy ultrasound.

There are many reasons I am called to someone's home for an ultrasound. It could be for peace of mind, pregnancy verification, or a Gender Reveal Party- to name a few. The overwhelming majority of the time, it is for a fun event. However, sometimes I am called over for other reasons...

I have had several clients over the years call me to come to their home for sad reasons. 

For Hospice reasons. 

A family member, (usually a Grand Parent, or Great Grand Parent,) was going in to Hospice Care the next day, and the family wanted the them to 'see' the baby before they went to Hospice. I have known every time, that this was going to be the nature of the ultrasound appointment. 

I don't have to tell you that it is rough. 

It's heartbreaking.

However, I can also tell you that the Grand Parent, and the rest of the family in attendance, are so incredibly grateful for my services. Being able to show the Grand Parent their Grand Baby is truly an honor. We just watch the baby moving around. Sucking the thumb. Watch the heart beating. And just marveling about the beauty of this little life.

It is extremely bittersweet for me. The thing I love the most, is being able to- for a brief hour- take away the sadness of what is happening to the family, and instead bring laughter and joy in to their home. Like I said, it is truly an honor.

I know not everyone is built to handle these sorts of situations. It can make people very uncomfortable. But, as they say- if it were easy, everyone would do it. It can certainly be difficult to try to brighten someone's day, especially in this instance. But I firmly believe a few things in life:

1- Treat everyone as you would want to be treated.

and

2- Step outside your comfort zone. That is the only place where you will actually grow as a person.

Starting this company from scratch has helped me to expand far past what I ever thought was possible. So my advice to you- Step outside of YOUR comfort zone. 

Be brave. Be bold. Be daring. And make the most out of the time you are given on this earth.